Erie dancers twirl their way into Cirque Du Soleil

By JENNIE GEISLERjennie.geisler@timesnews.com

August 21, 2014 12:01 AM

This is a multiple exposure shot of Jordan Komisarski, 11, of Millcreek Township, shows off her dancing skills at her home on August 14. Komisarski recently won free tickets to see Cirque Du Soleil's Varekai show by winning the Erie Times-News Summer Dance Video contest. JARID A. BARRINGER/ERIE TIMES-NEWS

When we asked for videos of folks dancing to their favorite songs, we had no idea what to expect.

We were delighted with their variety. A hip-hopper from Westlake Middle School garnered the most votes, followed by a mesmerizing hula-hoop expert and an impressive couple from the local swing-dance scene.

Winners each won tickets to recent Cirque du Soleil performances but also said they got a kick out of making their own performance videos.

Jordan Komisarski, who turns 12 on Friday, danced in her video to Pharrell Williams' hit song "Happy." She did the dancing, and her older sister Jaelyn Komisarski helped her with the video and editing.

"From start to finish, it was a fun project, especially seeing the end result," she said.

Jordan made the most of formal training.

"Although I have loved dancing since I was first able to walk, it was at age 7 that I began taking dancing lessons at Spotlight Studio," she said. "I take hip-hop and jazz classes, and I have been a member of Spotlight's competitive hip-hop dance team for the past two years."

This girl's got plans.

"I hope to take acro-jazz classes and participate in Westlake Middle School theater productions," she said.

In her dance video, Samantha Cyparski, 24, performed a stunning hula hoop act to "Never Enough," by Erie band Potwhole.

She said she learned from a now-fellow hula-hooper Jennifer Dennehy and performs with Lake Effect Hoop Troop.

"I bought my first hoop in 2009 but got serious about learning about a year and a half ago." She took lessons from Dennehy at Dafmark Dance Theater.

She's pregnant now but can still hoop it up, and she performed recently at CelebrateErie.

"Being pregnant had slowed me down a little bit," Cyparski said. "I can't do some tricks, like head stand, but exercise is super-important through pregnancy, so I try and hoop as much as possible."

Joyce and Dan Reese also pulled out Williams' "Happy" for their video. They've been swing dancing since the 1990s.

"We learned together," Joyce Reese said. "We took our very first swing dance lesson/workshop in Pittsburgh back in the '90s.

"We even got to meet and dance with the late, great Frankie Manning, the founder of Lindy Hop and one of Whitey's Lindy Hoppers," said Joyce Reese, 60. (Dan is 56.) "We do a variety of dances, Lindy Hop, collegiate shag, balboa and east coast."

You can get out and see the Reeses when they perform with a group on Thursdays at Rocco's Tavern, where Dan Reese is a DJ.

JENNIE GEISLER can be reached at 870-1885 or by e-mail. Visit her food blog at GoErie.com/blogs/loaves. Follow her on Twitter at twitter.com/ETNgeisler.